Escape the Night: Endless Winter Night
by Dede42
Summary: When the YouTubers travel to another realm to find the next gem, they learn that it is in the possession of a Ice Witch, and three will have to walk the Path of Betrayal. Can the Ice Queen be defeated, and who will be betrayed?
1. PROLOGUE: A FROZEN FATE

Escape the Night: Endless Winter Night

A/N: Hello, world and welcome back to _Escape Night!_

Man, my weekend wasn't exactly the best, but that doesn't matter. It's time to start the next episode. Onward!

Read, review, and enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from _Escape the Night_. I just own any and all characters that I just happen create.

* * *

**PROLOGUE: A FROZEN FATE**

In a different realm, one that was far different from our own, a tall, muscular man that was armed with an axe, had longish blonde hair, dark eyes, and was dressed in furs and leather.

He was heading toward an area in the forest, where snow was falling into a clearing, and with him was a very unusual-looking woman.

The woman was tall with long black hair, antlers were growing out of her head, and she was dressed in brown fabric, grey fur, and brown leather. She was carrying a gold compass that was glowing green, and she was using it to guide them to where they would find the threat to their land.

The man looked at her and shook his head. "I wouldn't use it," he warned, referring to the compass, for he didn't trust the magic that fueled it.

The woman, however, held up the compass and the green glow grew brighter as she looked around and spoke, sensing that they were near where they needed to be. "At the very door," she announced and nodded to the nearby snow-covered area.

* * *

After putting the compass in a safe place, they both crept into the snow-covered area, peered around a tree, and they saw in the clearing, a tall figure with blue skin that was streaked with black, dark eyes, white hair, a long black curved sword.

Behind the male figure was the entrance to a large ice structure that he was clearly guarding.

"Many have fallen to her spell," the woman warned her male companion, referring to the men and women who had entered the ice structure and had never returned…at least not alive.

Rumor had it that not all who entered were killed, but that some were placed under a sleep spell of some kind that would have them sleep forever.

"None like _me_," the man stated, having been training and preparing for this moment for a _very_ long time. "Now wizard!" he shouted, and he charged out, engaging the guardian.

They fought, their weapons clashing until he was able to kill the guardian, and then a second guardian engaged him in battle.

They also fought until he was able to knock the second guardian onto the ground and buried the head of his axe into the guardian's chest, killing him. He removed his axe and headed into the ice structure.

* * *

Inside the ice structure, there was a tall woman with pale skin, very long white hair, blue eyes encircled with small white diamonds, and dressed in an unusual and beautiful silver gown with a long white cape.

She was currently using her ice magic to turn a man into an ice statue and she was placing him in an enteral sleep in order to slowly and gently drain his life-force, just like she had done to her other victims, both male and female.

The warrior entered the room to face the ice witch that had been terrorizing their land for over a century, and he was there to finish her off once and for all.

"Evil one…" he snarled, getting her attention, "you've frozen our land and slaughtered our people. Prepare for death!" And he charged forward with a yell, his axe raised above his head to strike her down.

Unfortunately, the ice witch gently blew on her hand, and a wave of her ice magic froze him in place, turning him into an ice statue, and she sent him into what would eventually be an eternal sleep.

'_Foolish, handsome man,'_ she thought, approaching the frozen warrior and gently stroked his frozen face with one hand as she began to slowly and gently feed on his life-force._ 'No one of _this_ realm can defeat me. _No one_.'_

* * *

A/N: Well, this episode has certainly started in a cold way. I will see you all on Wednesday with the next chapter. Bye for now! R&R everyone!


	2. Chapter 1: BLOOD AND ASHES

Escape the Night: Endless Winter Night

A/N: Hello, world and welcome back to _Escape the Night!_

It's time for the first chapter and for our favorite YouTubers to seek out the next gem. Onward!

Read, review, and enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from _Escape the Night_. I just own any and all characters that I just happen create.

* * *

**CHAPTER ONE: BLOOD AND ASHES**

After finishing patching Ernie up so that Alison could reenter the lounge, and Tyler placed the newly cleaned sword on the mantle in the lounge, the group _desperately_ need a change of scenery. So, they went to the green room, where they had found the Helm of Obedience earlier that night and before that the salt that'd been needed in helping defeat Dorian, taking the scroll with them.

"Ok, how many gems do we have to get?" Joey asked once they were all seated in either chairs or on the single couch while Alison was standing near the fireplace.

"Four," Tyler answered, holding up four fingers.

"And we have the scroll that Midas gave me earlier," said Ernie, holding up the scroll. "Who wants to read it?"

"I will," said Tyler and he accepted the scroll, opening it, and he began reading it. "'To recover the next gem, _outsider_, you must save our world from the Ice Witch's evil wrath. I have placed a compass in the-'" He paused and tried to say the next word, but he was having troubles. "Heerth? How do you say that?"

Andrea peered at the word and corrected him. "Hearth."

Tyler nodded and resumed reading. "'…the hearth that can lead you to our realm'."

"Hearth means fireplace," Joey remarked, and both he and Alex looked at the fireplace behind them, which was bricked up. Exchanging a look, they both got up and went around the chairs to crouch in front of the fireplace, and pushed on the bricks, which moved a little, but they wouldn't yield. "Dang it."

Dawn went over and gestured them to move aside. "Here, let's try this." She turned her back and slammed the heel of her boot into the bricks in order to vent some of the frustration she'd been feeling, knocking them in, and she did it a second time, impressing the group while making an opening.

"Go, Donny!" Joey cheered as he and Alex high-five her, and they searched the opening. "There's something in here." And he pulled a gold sphere-shaped object out of the hole. "What _is_ this?"

"This must be the magical compass mentioned in the note," Dawn guessed as they gathered around it. "But, how do we make it work?"

Alex nodded to the scroll. "Is that _all _the note said?"

Andrea double-checked the scroll. "'It will lead you to our _realm'._"

"Alex," Joey said, glancing at the hole, "is there anything else in there?"

Alex turned back to the hole and reached inside, feeling around to see if there was anything else that they might've missed. "Wait," he said, feeling something crinkled and he pulled out another scroll, showing it to the group. "Oh! Another note!"

"What's it say?" Ernie asked.

Alex opened the scroll and read it. "'The compass will lead you to the portal between worlds, but its source of magic has faded in your realm. My spell book has an incantation that will restore its magic'."

"Magic, seriously?" Tyler asked skeptically.

"Given everything we've encountered tonight, why not magic?" Dawn asked sarcastically, and nodded to a cabinet on the other side of the room. "There's books over there."

The group went to the cabinet, opened it, and they began searching through the books until Joey found the right one.

"I think this is it," he said, opening a black leather book and found the correct spell. "'The spell to restore magic requires two components: a vial of maiden's blood, and ashes, remains of a hero. One is hidden in the dining room, and the other is in the sick room on the second floor. Recover these, and you'll be ready to cast the spell'."

"Sounds like something Snape would do," Ernie joked and they all snickered since it did seem like something out of _Harry Potter_.

"Guys, let's split up," Alex suggested. "You four…" He gestured to Joey, Dawn, Andrea, and Gabbie, then turned his attention to Tyler, Ernie, and Tana. "…and us four."

Andrea nodded. "You guys do the dining room, and we'll go upstairs."

"Perfect. Let's go."

* * *

Entering the foyer, Alex and his group headed for the dining room, taking the compass with them, while Joey, who was still holding the book, and his group headed up the stairs to find the sick room on the second floor.

* * *

Having been in the dining room before, Tyler lead the way, and found that it had changed and was set for a different kind of feast that'd never taken place.

"Come on," Alex said. "Okay. Vial of blood or ashes. Look for, like, an urn that would be full of dust."

They began searching the room for anything that could hold ashes and Alex suggested Tyler check a vase that had a lid on it. Tyler grabbed it while Tana remarked about how creepy the room was.

* * *

Reaching the second floor, the other group found a door with the sign 'Sick Room' on it, and they entered to find themselves in some kind of old-fashion hospital room that had a bed, old-fashion hospital equipment, and shelves filled with vials of blood.

"Ok," Gabbie said, wrinkling her nose at the blood supply that they were going to have to look through. "There's a _lot_of blood here. Why is there this _hospital _in this _house? _What is going on?"

"I don't think that's a question with a good answer, Gabbie," Dawn pointed out. "Let's just find the right vial of blood and get out of here."_ 'I wouldn't be surprised if this was where the vampires kept the blood they extracted from their victims with that blasted machine they had Joey hooked up to for a month.'_

Knowing that she was probably right, they began searching through the room for the correct vial of blood so that they could get out of there.

* * *

Back in the dining room, Tyler set the vase on the table and removed the lid to reveal that there was nothing inside it. "Nope, it's empty."

"Ah," Alex sighed, disappointed. "I thought that was it."

"Guess we'll just have to keep looking," said Ernie, also disappointed, and they resumed searching the dining room.

Tana happened to glance at the portrait of a grim-looking man, and she pointed to an inscription on the frame. "Guys!" she exclaimed and she read the inscription. "'Captain Wesley Adams, war hero and father. May his ashen remains be encased in clay'."

"That's _exactly_ what we need," Ernie stated, and they went back to searching the room for the correct urn.

Alex peered under a table and found another urn. "Found it!" He handed the compass to Ernie and he pulled the urn out, checking the contents. "Ashes. There's ash in here. Don't inhale it." And he handed it to Tyler, who took the urn and immediately covered the opening with his hand since it didn't have a lid. "So, we got it. Let's go tell the others."

Tyler nodded. "Let's go get the girls. And Joey." And they left the dining room to return to the green room to wait for the other group.

* * *

Meanwhile in the sick room, Team Blood were having troubles finding the correct vial of blood, which were only labeled with numbers, and that was making it difficult to figure out which vial belonged to a female.

"There's a chart over here, guys," Joey announced, putting down the book and he picked up a clipboard that had papers on it from a nearby table.

"See which ones belonged to a female," Dawn suggested. "That'll narrow it down a lot since female means maiden."

Joey nodded and checked the chart, finding three possible female blood samples and read off the numbers while Dawn and Andrea checked the shelves, and Gabbie peered over his shoulder. "Right. Patient numbers 116, 117, and 125."

Dawn and Andrea checked the labels and shook their heads, not finding any of the three numbers. "No, they're not here." And they all sighed, frustrated that they were having _such_ a hard time finding the right vial of blood.

* * *

In the green room, the other group was waiting for their friends return with the maiden's blood, and they were surprised that it was taking them such a long time.

"I can't believe we found it this quick, and they're having problems," Alex remarked, nodding to the urn that was on the table with the compass.

"I think, at voting, we should remember how long it's taking our friends to find something," Tana suggested thoughtfully.

"What are you suggesting?" Ernie inquired.

Alex figured it out. "You guys wanna make an alliance?" he asked. "Our alliance is…we just promise not to vote for each other."

"I don't know," Ernie said uneasily, having seen alliances formed on _Survivor_, and had seen them crumble halfway through the season _every time_.

Tyler, however, thought it was a great idea. "I am _so_down for an alliance."

"And don't you feel like, right now, _they're _making an alliance?" Tana wondered.

"And with the exception of Gabbie, _no one_ in that group has been sent into a challenge," Alex remarked thoughtfully. "Not Andrea, Joey, _or_ Dawn. They really haven't proven themselves yet."

Tyler nodded. "True, very true."

"Guys, they're our _friends,_" Ernie pointed out, not liking where this was going. "I mean, they're in the same boat we all are, especially Dawn and Joey after what happen to them last year. So what if they hadn't been voted into a challenge yet? Artie and I didn't get voted into that _last_ challenge, we _chose_ to go in order to get the gem and save our friends. This doesn't feel right."

"It'll be fine, Ernie," Alex said reassuringly and both Tyler and Tana agreed. They had their alliance and they were ready for whatever was going to come up next.

* * *

Back up in the sick room, Joey was searching the chart for female blood and he flipped the page on the chart, finding another number next to a female name. "Was 135 one?"

Dawn checked the shelf and both she and Andrea found the vial labeled 135 at the same time. "Yes!"

"Ok," Joey said, relieved as they examined the chart. "I have 135."

Gabbie read the information next to the number. "Ok, guys, I think it's Daria. Patient 135. She's female. She's eighteen."

"Definitely a maiden," Dawn agreed. "We got it." Holding the vial and grabbing the book, they hurried out of the room to rejoin their friends.

* * *

A/N: The ashes and the blood have been found. I will see you all on Friday to see what will happen next. Bye for now! R&R everyone!


	3. Chapter 2: POWERING THE COMPASS

Escape the Night: Endless Winter Night

A/N: Hello, world and welcome back to Escape the Night!

Sorry for the late update, had errands to run. Onward!

Read, review, and enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from _Escape the Night_. I just own any and all characters that I just happen create.

* * *

**CHAPTER TWO: POWERING THE COMPASS**

"Guys," Joey said as they entered the green room, "we got the blood."

"We got the ashes," Alex confirmed, holding up the urn.

They gathered around the table and Andrea was now holding the spell book. "I have the spell," she said and she began reading the instructions. "'Make a circle with the ash and place the object inside'."

Ernie set the compass on the table and Alex poured the ashes around it in a circle, making Joey and Dawn both grimaced since this wasn't something that one would normally do with the ashes of a dead person. "Omigosh. That's _disgusting!_"

"This reminds me of some wild nights in the saloon," Tana joked and Gabbie snickered.

Andrea rolled her eyes and read the next set of instructions. "'Speak the words of the spell as the maiden's blood is dripped around the ashen circle'."

"Oh," Tyler groaned as Dawn opened the vial, and she carefully poured the blood around the circle. "I don't love it."

"Neither do I," Dawn agreed, making as face as she finished pouring the blood around the circle. "Eck!"

"Do you wanna try it together?" Andrea asked once the blood had been poured. "Like, all at the same time?" And they all nodded. She took Joey's hand, and he took Dawn's hand. Once they were all holding hands, she held out the spell book to Tana, who helped her hold it. "Ready," she said. "Set. Go."

Together they began reciting the spell. "Pela en bela templa elea eh, pela en bela templa elea eh, pela en bela templa elea eh."

The green gem inside the compass began glowing and they all gasped. They'd done it!

"This is the compass," Tyler breathed, amazed that they were able to cast a spell.

Just then, a woman's voice began speaking to them from the compass, startling them._ `"__My light will lead you into forgotten realms. It will glow brightest when you move in the proper direction__."`_

"Oh," said Gabbie. "It's like Hot and Cold."

"First Capture the Flag and now Hot and Cold," Ernie remarked with a shrug. "Might as well."

Andrea picked up the compass and turned in a circle to determine which way to go. "So it'll glow brightest when we go the right way." And when it stated to dim, they turned her in a different direction, toward one of the doors, but it was still dim. "It's still faded. Let's go towards the hallway." She headed for the hallway, and the compass lighted up. "Oh! It's getting brighter. There we go. It's the hallway." And she lead the way.

* * *

The group followed Andrea through the hallway and Gabbie wasn't too impressed with her mystic act, not that she was about to admit it to anyone, and she really didn't think it was that hard to carry a compass and follow it.

* * *

"It's getting brighter," Alex remarked when they reached the foyer, and sure enough, when Andrea turned toward the back door, it was growing brighter.

"Do you think we should go this way?" Andrea wondered.

"Let's try outside," Dawn suggested and they headed for the back door.

"Wait," said Gabbie, having forgotten where they're supposed to be going. "_What's _this leading us to?"

"Another realm."

* * *

Reaching the back door, Tyler opened it, and they stepped out onto the balcony. Thunder crashed overhead, startling them, and then they saw on the lawn below was some kind of woman, who had her arms stretched out toward the sky, with some kind of green magic flowing from her hands and into the night sky.

"Do you see that?" Tyler whispered, staring at the strange woman.

Andrea nodded. "Yeah should we go down there?"

"Might as well," Dawn agreed and they went down the stairs to approach the strange woman, and as they stepped onto the lawn, they passed through a strange green mist that left them all feeling tingling for a few seconds._ 'Ok, we're definitely _not _in the same realm anymore.'_

"She's not an ice queen," Tana remarked.

Andrea, who was still holding the compass, took a step closer. "Hello?"

The strange woman stopped whatever spell she'd been casting, lowered her arms, and turned to face them. When she saw the group, she smiled brightly. "The heroes of our prophecy have arrived," she proclaimed.

This surprised the group. They were the heroes of a _prophecy?_ Dawn hoped that this wasn't a case of mistaken identity on the woman's part, having encountered that sort of thing when on _Doctor Who_ or some other show she was involved with when not stuck in a hell game like right now.

"Our world has been cursed," the strange woman informed them, "and we need your help."

"Ok," Joey said, sharing an uncertain look with Dawn. "How do we help?"

"The once-lowly Ice Witch has obtained a gem, giving her great power," the strange woman explained, getting a reaction out of the group, since it was clear that this was the next gem that they needed to obtain. "To defeat her," she continued, "you will need to find the Unquenchable Fire, which lies on the Path of Betrayal. To get to the Path, you will need to find the Talisman. Two evil harpies guard the Talisman." And she pointed to where the two bird/women that'd killed Liza and Sampson two hours earlier were currently perched.

The moment the group saw the harpies, their hearts shot straight to their feet. How were they going to get past the _monsters_ that'd killed both Sampson and Liza right in front of them barely two hours ago?

'_Had I known that _they_ were here,'_ Ernie thought,_ 'I would've brought my sword.'_

The woman noted their reactions and guessed that they had encountered the harpies before in their own realm. "And they _will_ tear you to pieces unless you have a great warrior by your side," she warmed them before gesturing to a nearby ice sculpture, which was shaped like a man wielding an axe, not far from them. "Torhild the Undying was such a warrior. The last spell in my book has the power to reverse the witch's curse and free him."

Alex glanced at Joey, who was holding the spell book once again. "She said the last spell."

Joey opened the book and flipped through it until he found the last page with a spell on it, which he read to his friends. "'To dispel a curse, you will need tears from a fairy and the Moss King's scepter. Both lie here, hidden in the woods'. Ok, so we need to search for a fairy."

"Let's split up," Alex suggested, but the others thought it was best to just search the area and remain in sight of each other instead. And how they went from being in a horror movie to a quest that one would expect to go on in _The Lord of the Rings_ was anyone's guess.

* * *

A/N: First they're in a horror movie, and now they're doing something out of _The Lord of the Rings_. I will see you all on Monday with the next chapter. Bye for now! R&R everyone!


	4. Chapter 3: MAKE A FAIRY LAUGH

Escape the Night: Endless Winter Night

A/N: Hello, world and welcome back to _Escape the Night!_

The group has entered another realm and need to find certain items in order to defeat the Ice Witch and get the next gem. So, how hard will it be to find fairy tears and a moss scepter? Time to find out. Onward!

Read, review, and enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from _Escape the Night_. I just own any and all characters that I just happen create.

* * *

**CHAPTER THREE: MAKE A FAIRY LAUGH**

"First we're trapped in _another_ horror movie situation, and now we're doing _Lord of the Rings_," Dawn remarked to Joey as they searched for either the fairy, whose tears they needed, or the moss king specter. "What next?"

Joey shrugged. "Given how this night has been going, who knows," he admitted and he found something on the ground. "What's this? Is this something?" And he picked it up.

"Guys, we found something," Dawn called out and their friends hurried over to join them.

"Is it the scepter?" Andrea asked.

Joey unwrapped a bundle made out of a green leaf and revealed that it was a brown wooden flute. "It's like a flute." He then read the note that was on the leaf. "'Play the proper note to summon a fairy. If you seek her tears, you must get her to laugh until she cries'." And under the note was a series of small dots, and some of them were colored in. "Want to give it a try?" he asked, offering the flute to Dawn.

"Sure," Dawn agreed and put her fingers over the correct holes. "Ok, second, fourth, and fifth." She then put the flute to her mouth and blew so that a single musical note came out.

At first nothing happen, and then a fairy emerged from the bushes behind them, startling the group. She had gossamer wings, long brown locks, and a skirt made of flower petals. She skipped into view, with a big smile, and there was pixie dust sparkling around her. "You called?" she asked in a bright cheerful voice.

Joey was slightly taken aback, but then again, this fairy wasn't the _strangest_ thing that they'd seen tonight. "Yes, we need your tears."

"Why?" the fairy asked suspiciously. "What are you going to use them for? Evil spells?"

"No," Alex said quickly, "we want to break a curse."

The fairy considered this while looking at the group, and then she shrugged before sitting down on a rock. "All right," she agreed. "But first, you must make me laugh."

"What makes you laugh?" Ernie asked.

The fairy smiled mischievously. "_You_ figure it out."

The group exchanged looks, wondering what they could do to make the fairy laugh, and they tried a few jokes, but this didn't get the fairy laughing, not even Gabbie's joke about why she dumped her ex-boyfriend. Joey tried twerking, but even _that_ didn't get anything from the fairy, and they were starting to feel hopeless when Tyler made a suggestion.

"Should we get down like we were getting? Like, ratchet and stuff?"

"Yeah!" Joey exclaimed. "Okay! Let's just do the spell!"

"You ready?" Tyler asked the fairy, who leaned forward expectantly.

"Wait!" Joey positioned Gabbie at the center of the group. "Have her in the middle."

Together, the group started chanting "Pela en bela templa elea eh!" while simultaneously dance-twerking that had Dawn's face going red with embarrassment since she normally didn't do this kind of dancing, but the fairy was clearly enjoying it since she was starting to bounce along, and after about two minutes, the fairy began giggling and she ended up falling off the rock in happy hysterics.

"She's _laughing!_" Alex exclaimed, thrilled that it worked. "Get her tears!"

"All right, all right!" the fairy gasped through her laughter. "Oh, God, that was _funny__!_" And she put her tears into a tiny bottle while Gabbie was pouting that her own joke hadn't made the fairy laugh. Once the tears were collected, she handed the bottle to Andrea. "There you are, darling," she said, smiling.

"Thank you so much," Tyler said with a gracious bow.

"Thank you for the tears!" Alex said to their new fairy friend. "Toodle-oo!"

Beaming, the fairy sent them off with a "Run along now," and the group left her to find the scepter.

Now that they had the tears, they resumed the search for the moss king scepter, and this was proving to be harder to find.

* * *

They were searching around trees, along the pond, and then Alex found something among the moss near the pond. "Found it!" he called out, holding up a greenish/brown scepter. "I found it in the moss!" And they hurried back to the ice statue that was the warrior, Torhild the Undying.

"Now that we have everything we need, what do we do?" Ernie asked. "What does the incantation say?"

Joey reopened the spell book and he read the instructions. "'Spell to reverse ice curse: Place the scepter at the base of the subject and sprinkle the fairy tears on their eyes. Then, move twenty paces from the subject before reciting the words of the spell'."

"Put this at the bottom?" Alex asked, holding up the moss scepter.

Joey nodded. "Yeah, at his feet." And Alex placed the scepter at the feet of the ice warrior. "All right, who has the tears?" Andrea held up the small bottle. "Sprinkle it on his eyes."

"On his _eyes?_"

"Yes."

"Start backing up twenty paces," Dawn instructed the group, and they did so while Andrea uncorked the bottle and sprinkled the fairy tears on the eyes of the ice statue. Once this was done, she rejoined the group that was now a fair distance from the statue.

"We should recite it together again," Gabbie suggested and they began reading the spell together.

"Lova termara en trunpla." As they recited the spell, mist started pouring off the ice statue, and they kept reciting the spell. "Yala onna. Brugollach en trumpla." And sure enough, the curse broke, the ice melted, and the freed warrior let out a yell and charged at them, scaring the group.

* * *

A/N: Look out! Well, the fairy tears and the moss specter have done the trick. I will see you all on Wednesday for the next chapter. Bye for now! R&R everyone!


	5. Chapter 4: TORHILD VS HARPIES

Escape the Night: Endless Winter Night

A/N: Hello, world and welcome back to _Escape the Night!_

Torhild has been freed! Can he help the group retrieve the talisman from the Harpies? Time to find out. Onward!

Read, review, and enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from _Escape the Night_. I just own any and all characters that I just happen create.

* * *

**CHAPTER FOUR: TORHILD VS. HARPIES**

Luckily for the group, when Torhild saw that he wasn't facing the ice witch, but a group of terrified young people, he immediately stopped charing at them, and he beamed at them gratefully, lowering his axe. "You freed me from that frozen tomb!" he declared gratefully. "I am in your debt."

"Can you help us defeat the ice queen?" Dawn requested, feeling a bit better about their odds of getting the gem, and if it was possible without any of them dying, that would be great, too. Although she didn't expect all of them to leave that realm alive, and she knew that they weren't going to risk breaking the Sorceress' rules again.

Torhild nodded solemnly. "Yes. I will. You'll have to follow me."

"Okay, daddy!" Tana cooed, batting her eyelashes at Torhild. "I'll follow you anywhere!"

"Can you carry me, boo-boo?" Gabbie asked hopefully.

Tyler rolled his eyes at the girls. "Everybody calm down." And both Dawn and Joey were shaking their heads, being reminded of how Eva and Lele had wooed over Colin last year.

* * *

Torhild lead them to the clearing, where the two harpies were crouching near a fountain that had a white statue sitting on top of it, and the group wasn't happy to see the harpies that'd been responsible for killing both Sampson _and_ Liza. "This is where the harpies lie," he informed them, speaking softly so not to draw the attention of the evil bird/women just yet. "Should they attack, mind their claws. They carry a poison that can fell a northern mammoth. Look."

"Those are the things that killed Liza!" Gabbie moaned, forgetting to keep her voice low.

Unfortunately, the harpies heard her, and the blue one hissed as they leapt up and attempted to go after the group, but Torhild jumped out and kept the harpies back with his axe, defending the group. "Get back, creature," he growled, his eyes flashing with warning, "before I cleave your head from your shoulders!"

"Torhild the Undying has taken up the company of outsiders," the blue harpy snickered and it spit at his feet.

"Mock me again, bird, and your blood will spill," Torhild warned, brandishing his axe to keep the harpies at bay. "Now hear their words!"

Steeling herself, Andrea stepped forward to address the harpies. "We need the Talisman."

"Do you have _any_ idea of the price we paid to obtain it?" the blue harpy hissed angrily and Andrea quickly retreated to the group.

"Can we trade you?" Alex offered. "Can we do something?"

The orange harpy whispered into the ear of the blue harpy, and after debating back and forth a few times, the blue harpy turned to address the group. "Here are the terms, and we will accept no others," it stated. "Six of you will be placed on the edge of the fountain as witnesses. Two of you will face us in a game of stones. If one of you loses, all six outsiders will be slain. If both of you can win, the Talisman is yours. Decide who plays!"

Although they didn't like the sound of that, the group got into a huddle to decide who would play against the harpies, and although Tana _did_ offer since she was pretty good at checkers, which the game of stones sounded like, it was decided that Alex and Joey would play the game of stones against the harpies.

Although Tana was disappointed that her offer had been turned down, they turned to inform the harpies of who would play against them in the game of stones.

Pleased, the harpies first escorted Andrea, Tyler, Dawn, Ernie, Gabbie, and Tana to positions around the fountain while Alison stood nearby, just in case the harpies tried to pull a fast one. Torhild positioned himself in front of the group with his axe at the ready to defend them, and then the two bird-women turned their attention to Alex and Joey, marching them to a pair of tables that had the game set up on them.

"Ok, ok!" Joey snapped as the orange harpy pushed him into position, the blue harpy doing the same to Alex. "I got it! You don't have to manhandle me! Gosh!"

Ignoring the objections, the harpies positioned themselves across from the boys, and the blue harpy gave them the instructions of the game. "The first player to stack three stones is the victor. The outsiders go first," it added with a sneer.

Exchanging a look, Joey and Alex make their first moves against the harpies, and the harpies were quick to make their moves, too. During the game, the group gave encouragement to the two boys as they concentrated on the game, making their next moves, moving their stones across the board, and the harpies did the same.

"Alex, how are you doing?" Joey asked, making his move.

"I'm doing good," Alex replied. "I'm almost about to stack one." And sure enough, he was able to stack his first stone in record time, setting aside the black stone he'd jumped, earning a growl from the blue harpy. "You should've practiced."

Joey was close to stacking his first stone and he made his move. "It's your turn, missy," he informed the orange harpy, who surprised him by having its' stone jump two spaces._ 'It cheated!'_ "No! That's not how it works! Go back!"

To Alex's shock, the blue harpy also jumped two spaces. "You can _do_ that?!"

"They're cheating!" Dawn shouted. "They shouldn't be allowed to cheat!"

"She's _definitely_ cheating!" Joey agreed, jabbing an accusing finger at the orange harpy. "You just cheated!"

"I moved _one_ space," the blue harpy insisted.

Torhild, however, had seen both harpies cheat, too. "You think me blind?!" he bellowed. "You cheat!"

The blue harpy glowered at the warrior. "Calling me a _liar?!_"

"I am!" Torhild confirmed, glowering.

The blue harpy shrieked and threw its hands in the air. "Kill them!"

Both harpies tried to go after Joey and Alex, who both yelped and ran to rejoin the group, but then with a bellow, Torhild the Undying leapt forward and engaged the two harpies, tackling them away and losing his axe in the process. While he was engaged with the blue harpy, the orange harpy tried to go after the group, which had retreated behind the fountain, but Alison hissed and blocked its' way.

Torhild managed to get the blue harpy in a bone-crushing grip, and he snapped its' neck. Dropping the corpse to the ground, he doubled over in pain, and clutched his side, which had three long claw marks that were leaking blood.

"He's hurt!" Alex yelped, realizing that the blue harpy had managed to claw him, and that meant the warrior had ben poisoned!

The orange harpy was enraged by the death of its' friend, and it leapt onto Torhild's back. Roaring, Torhild spun around until he was able to throw the harpy off his back. When it tried to go after him a second time, he grabbed the creature, lifted it into the air, and with a roar, slammed its' back onto his knee, breaking its spine. He then dropped the corpse onto the ground, and he also collapsed due to the poison coursing through his body.

The group ran over to see if they could help the warrior, but they knew that the poison from the harpies' claws was already working its way through his body, and it was clear that they couldn't do anything for him.

"My time in this world is over," Torhild informed them when they asked what they could do to help him, and he nodded to the fountain. "Get the Talisman from the Crimson Pool."

Alex picked up the axe and placed it in Torhild's hand. "It's a hero's death." And he smiled sadly when the warrior thanked him.

The group went to the nearby pool, which was glowing red, and Joey told Alex to hold onto the back of his coat as he used a set of stepping stones to cross the pool until he was close enough to reach the Talisman, which he grabbed, and it briefly glowed with a blue light.

"We got it," Joey informed Torhild when they returned to his side. "What do we do with the Talisman? What do we do now?"

"Kill that ice witch," Torhild declared before he finally died.

Just then, the woodland woman they'd met earlier, stepped out of the trees. "You truly are the heroes of the prophecy," she stated while glancing sadly at the dead warrior, and then she gestured at them to follow her. "Follow me to the Path. You will need the Talisman to get past its Guardian." And the group followed her, wishing that Torhild could've lived longer.

* * *

A/N: RIP Torhild, you were a hero to the end. Who else rolled their eyes when Gabbie and Tana flirted with Torhild? I know I did.

I will see you all on Friday with the next chapter to see who will face the Ice Queen. Bye for now! R&R everyone!


	6. Chapter 5: PATH OF BETRAYAL PART ONE

Escape the Night: Endless Winter Night

A/N: Hello, world and welcome back to _Escape the Night!_

The talisman has been retrieved and now it's time for the group to decide who will walk the Path of Betrayal, who will be betrayed. Onward!

Read, review, and enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from _Escape the Night_. I just own any and all characters that I just happen create.

* * *

**CHAPTER FIVE: PATH OF BETRAYAL PART ONE**

The group followed the woodland woman around the house until the _strangest_man that they had ever seen, so far, came into view: he was wearing a white robe, his face looked like it'd been carved from a frozen blue stone, and he was carrying the biggest sword that they had ever seen outside of TV shows, anime, and movies.

The moment that the group got close, the guardian began speaking in a gravelly voice. "If you seek the Unquenchable Fire, _three_ must must be chosen to walk the Path of Betrayal."

Joey and Dawn both grimaced at those words, since the two times that three had to go into a challenge last year, it hadn't ended too well for a total of four people, and they gathered with their friends to figure out who would go into the final death challenge while Alison took the compass for safekeeping.

"If we have to send in three people," Tyler said in a surprisingly calm voice. "I feel like it should be three people that haven't proven themselves."

"In other words," Dawn said dryly, suspecting where he was going with this, "you're saying that Joey, Andrea, and _I _should go into this challenge since we haven't done any final death challenges, right?" And when she got a confirming nod, she sighed. "Fair enough. Joey, what do you think?"

Joey nodded and shrugged since it made sense. "Ok, I guess we're going in. Andrea?" And she nodded, too.

"Hopefully there won't be any perverse games this time," Dawn joked and the group laughed while she and Joey both flushed a little at the memory of having to do perverse games with a bunch of mannequins.

Alison gave Andrea a golden cape. "Here, this will keep you warm," she said as Joey fastened it around Andrea's neck.

Once this was done, they approached the guardian while their friends watched, and he handed Dawn a scroll, which she opened and they read it together. "'Along the Path are five riddle boxes, each containing a key. To make it past the second Guardian, you will need to gather three keys. You must each walk the path separately, and only one of you will be able to gather enough'."

Swallowing, Joey presented the guardian the Talisman. "Here's the Talisman." And when the guardian accepted it and stepped aside, they entered the path beyond him.

* * *

The Path was lined with dense foliage and tall trees, making it dark, deep, and creepy, and Joey, Dawn, and Andrea were feeling _very_ uneasy since they _really_ didn't want to betray each other, but it _was_ called the Path of Betrayal for a reason.

"Ok, I guess this is where we split up to find the riddle boxes," Dawn suggested and both Joey and Andrea agreed, reluctantly of course, and they went to different sides of the path to look for the riddle boxes.

Joey immediately found a riddle box while Dawn and Andrea moved further down the path, searching for boxes, and he sat down on a rock to read the note that was with the riddle box. "You feel yours, but never see it and never will'," he muttered and tried the world 'soul', but it didn't work. "Dang it, I'll have to find a different one."

Setting it down, he hurried down the path to find a different riddle box.

* * *

Still searching for riddle boxes, Dawn and Andrea reached an area that was lined with pillars, and Andrea managed to find one on top of one of the pillars. Letting her have that one, Dawn went further down the path until she found a riddle box under a bush.

"_Finally_," she grumbled, grabbing it and removed the note while seeing that it was an cryptex that needed a five-letter word. She then read the note to herself. "'Runs smoother than any rhyme. Loves to fall, but cannot climb'. _Ok_." She then went to work on trying to figure out the right five-letter word.

* * *

Andrea sat down on a nearby bench with her riddle box as Joey jogged past, searching for a different riddle box to work on, and she read the note to herself. "'Thirty white horses on a red hill. First they champ, then they stamp, then they stand still'." She then tried different words that had five letters and were connected to horses, but none of them were working.

* * *

"Dang it!" Dawn shouted in frustration when Joey caught up with her. "I can't do this!" And she was ready to cry as he sat next to her. "Joey, I know we're suppose to do this on our own, but I can't think straight, and I'm _really_ scared."

"So am I," Joey agreed, giving her a hug as Andrea joined them with the riddle box she'd been struggling with. "Maybe, we should work on these together?"

Andrea nodded. "Working together for now is a good idea," she agreed. "What what does that one say?"

Dawn showed them the note. "'Runs smoother than any rhyme. Loves to fall, but cannot climb'." She then noticed there was a fish on one of the sides. "Hang on, is that a fish?"

"Oh! Try water," Joey suggested.

Dawn felt like kicking herself, but she did put in the word 'water', and the box opened, enabling her to get a small yellow key out. "_Finally_. That was obvious."

"Try this one," Andrea suggested, handing her cryptex to Joey.

Joey read through the note with Dawn, noting that it said 'chomp' instead of 'champ', and figured out the answer. "Teeth!" He put the word in and the cryptex opened, revealing the second key. "Ok, just need one more key and I know where to look."

* * *

They went back to the cryptex that Joey had abandoned earlier, and working together, they put in the word 'heart', and it opened, giving them the third key.

* * *

Together, they walked down the path until they reached the second guardian, who was standing outside the entrance to the ice cave and she was holding a lit torch in one hand and a large sword in the other hand.

Not wanting to betray either Dawn or Andrea, Joey swallowed and presented the guardian with the three keys. "We have the three keys."

The guardian lowered her sword to the ground so she could take the keys and she gave Joey the Torch of Unquenchable Fire. "Lift high in the air to melt the heart of the Ice Witch," she instructed and moved aside so that they could enter the ice cave.

* * *

A/N: The first half of the final death challenge done, and on Monday will be part two. Bye for now! R&R everyone!


	7. Chapter 6: PATH OF BETRAYAL PART TWO

Escape the Night: Endless Winter Night

A/N: Hello, world and welcome back to _Escape the Night!_

Sorry for the late update, but I had to deal with some financial issues that had been stressing me out this whole month. Anyway, time to see how Joey, Dawn, and Andrea are doing with the Path of Betrayal. Onward!

Read, review, and enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from _Escape the Night_. I just own any and all characters that I just happen create.

* * *

**CHAPTER SIX: PATH OF BETRAYAL PART TWO**

The trio entered the cave and they were surprised to find a table with five stone tablets on it, each had one of their friends' names on them, and there was also a note.

"What the heck is this?" Joey wondered, picking up the note and held it up.

"What does it say?" Andrea asked.

Joey and Dawn exchanged a look and they read the note together. "'Choose the friend whom you will betray. Smash their name upon the ground, and the Ice Witch will be revealed'." Paling with fear, they immediately dropped the note and backed away from it. "Oh no!"

Andrea looked at the five stone tablets that had the names of their waiting friends on them, and she realized why Joey and Dawn were scared. "Omigod," she gasped and looked at her friends. "Because it's the Path of Betrayal. We have to betray someone. The three of us are safe, but we're betraying someone else."

"No, no, no," Dawn moaned, clamping her hands over her mouth. "No, Joey, it's the _freaking_ murder journal all over again!"

Joey had come to the same conclusion, recalling all too well him writing down GloZell's name and Dawn writing down Bart's name into the murder journal, resulting in the two of them dying, and now they were going to have to choose _another_ friend to die. "Not _again._"

"You both went through something similar last year didn't you?" Andrea asked and they both nodded fearfully. "Ok," she said, thinking as she glanced at the tablets before looking back at them. "Just think about who has been slowing us down," she advised.

Swallowing, Joey nodded and gave Dawn the torch while he examined the tablets, not wanting her to make the decision this time. "Ok, Alex has proven himself more than once. We can't choose him. Let's put him up here." And he set the tablet onto a nearby shelf, hating himself for going through this again.

"I feel like Tyler has as well, though," Andrea remarked.

"Yeah," Joey agreed, setting the second tablet with the first one.

"Ernie has proven himself, too," said Dawn and Joey nodded, adding the third tablet to the shelf. "Oh God, that leaves Tana and Gabbie."

Joey immediately backed away from the table, hating this. "I don't wanna choose," he whimpered, and he pulled Dawn close since she was shaking like a leaf now. "We can't do it. We _can't_."

"I don't wanna choose, either," Andrea agreed, wishing that this wasn't happening, and she could tell that both Dawn and Joey were on the verge of having panic attacks. "We have to. Who's been more helpful? Gabbie or Tana?"

Joey and Dawn stared at the two remaining tablets, they both were feeling sick to their stomachs, and they _really_ didn't want to betray _anyone_ like they had to last year. So far, Gabbie _had_ been more helpful then Tana, but to do choose between their two friends…they _just_ couldn't do it this time, and they both looked questioning at Andrea. "What do you think?"

Andrea didn't want to betray either girl, but she knew that they had to do it, and she rather the blood be on her hands instead of Joey or Dawn's this time. "I mean, obviously Tana," she said, thinking back to the final death challenge that'd resulted in Jesse becoming spider food because of Gabbie wining the challenge and choosing DeStorm over him while Tana had failed the challenge. "For me. The challenge that Tana and Gabbie did…Tana technically lost. I feel like, from her loss, now's her time to die."

She picked up the stone tablet, which felt icy cold in her hands, and she face Dawn and Joey. "Want me to smash it?" she asked, and they both nodded wordlessly, and she could tell that this decision was hurting them even though she was going to do the final betrayal herself.

"Ready?" she asked, and they nodded again, shutting their eyes so that they wouldn't have to watch, and she didn't blame them since she shut her own eyes as she raised the stone table above her head._ 'I'm _so_ sorry, Tana, but this has to be done.'_ "We love you," she whispered and smashed the stone tablet on the path, making Joey and Dawn both wince.

* * *

Back at the beginning of the Path, the ice guardian's eyes went wide, as if he suddenly sensed something, raised his sword and faced the waiting group.

"Uh, guys," said Ernie uneasily as the guardian started toward him. "He's coming at us!"

The group started backing up frantically as the guardian kept moving toward them. Suddenly he faced Tana, who'd made the mistake of moving from the others, and before they could stop him, he swung the sword at her, and she screamed as it cut into her stomach.

"_No!_" They ran forward as Tana collapsed to the ground, bleeding out instantly, and by the time they got to her, she was already dead. "Tana!"

The group was in utter turmoil and confusion while the ice guardian returned to his post next to the path. Tana had just been _killed_! _Why_ had she been killed?!

* * *

Moments after smashing the tablet, a bluish white light appeared just ahead of them. Taking the torch from Dawn, Joey and the girls moved toward it, wondering what they would find, and what the ice witch would look like.

* * *

They entered the chamber of the Ice Queen and it was clear to them that this _wasn't_ Elsa from _Frozen _or even Freya from _The Huntsman: Winter's War_. The moment she saw the trio, she raised a hand to her mouth, and she blew her ice magic toward them, fully intending to add them to her collection of ice statues that were scattered around them.

"No!" Joey lifted and aimed the Torch of Unquenchable Fire at the Ice Queen, refusing to let anyone _else_ die. "No!" And a beam of fiery light shot out of the torch, overwhelming the ice magic, and the Ice Queen screamed as she was vaporized into pink smoke.

The moment that the Ice Queen was gone, they ran forward and found only her clothing, which they searched through for the gem. "Where's the gem? Did she leave the gem?"

"Wait, what's this?" Andrea found a piece of paper. "It's a letter."

"A letter?" Dawn repeated, exchanging a confused look with Joey. "Why a letter and not the gem?"

Andrea shrugged and she read the letter. "'Your path is complete. Return to your friends'."

"What the heck?!" They searched the clothing again, but there was _no gem_, and this left them devastated.

"We don't have the gem!" Andrea cried. "She didn't leave us the gem!" They had _betrayed_ Tana, only to have the Sorceress betray _them_ in return by not giving them the gem.

"I swear," Dawn vowed, her eyes bright with anger and unshed tears. "The next time I _see_ the Sorceress, I'm going to _kill_ her _myself!_" And for a brief moment, she began glowing white.

Joey and Andrea both stared at her, surprised, and Dawn was surprised, too. Was this the Light that the bad guys kept talking about? And why was she glowing?

Moments later, the white light faded away. "Ok," Dawn said, shaken. "That – that was weird."

"It was," Joey agreed. "Come on, we better head back." And they headed back down the path together, taking only the Torch of Unquenchable Fire with them, and no gem.

* * *

A/N: RIP Tana, what happened you wasn't fair in the slightest. I fully expected Joey to have serious flashbacks to the murder journal upon realizing that he would need to betray another friend when I saw this episode, and while I know that there are those who insist that he killed Tana on purpose, I refuse to believe that for a second.

Ok, I will be seeing you all on Wednesday for the next chapter, and fi I fail to update, then that will most likely mean that there's something going on in real life that I'm having to deal with and not to worry as I will try to update as normal as much as possible, even with the holidays. Bye for now! R&R everyone!


	8. Chapter 7: A FAILED MISSION

Escape the Night: Endless Winter Night

A/N: Hello, world and welcome back to _Escape the Night!_

Well, here's the final chapter of this particular episode and things aren't looking too great for the group right now. Onward!

Read, review, and enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from _Escape the Night_. I just own any and all characters that I just happen create.

* * *

**CHAPTER SEVEN: A FAILED MISSION**

Gabbie was sobbing over Tana's dead body, calling her a 'martyr' when Joey, Dawn, and Andrea returned with the Torch of Unquenchable Fire.

"Guys!" Alex exclaimed, standing up when he saw the three of them still alive. "What _happened?_ Tana's dead!"

"How can you three still be alive and Tana dead?" Ernie questioned, noting that the three of them were looking _very_ guilty. "What happen on the Path?"

Joey answered the question, and his voice was choked with guilt and tears. "We had to walk the Path of Betrayal, and… we had to betray one of you guys." And when Dawn started crying, he pulled her close.

"We had to choose somebody," Andrea added regretfully.

The group was floored when they heard this. The betrayal was that their friends had had to choose between the five of them, and that was the _worst_ thing that could've happen to Joey and Dawn, having had to go through something similar last year based on how they were handling the situation.

"Did you face the ice queen?" Gabbie asked them, trying to focus on something _other_ then their dead friend, and the reason why they went through all of this.

"Yes," Dawn answered, pulling herself together. "We – we killed the Ice Queen."

Joey showed them the Torch of Unquenchable Fire. "We killed her with this."

"Did you get the gem?" Tyler asked, hoping that Tana's death would be worth it.

The trio shook their heads. "No."

"Wait, are you saying that there _wasn't_ a gem?" Ernie asked, shocked when they shook their heads again. "Seriously? The Sorceress just decided to _change_ the rules like that?!"

Just then, the woodland woman, who'd told them earlier that her name was Sireen, stepped out of the shadows. "I am sorry for your loss," she told them regretfully, "but you have saved our entire land. And for that, I am forever in your debt." She reached into her bag and pulled out a bluish crystal. "This contains a piece of my magic."

Sadly it wasn't a gem, but Dawn accepted it on the behalf of the group, who were all feeling betrayed that all the trouble they gone through had _failed_ to get them a gem this time. "Thank you."

"May it serve you well," Sireen added. "It is time to leave now, before the Sorceress finds her way here again."

Having no other choice, the group headed back toward the house, passing through the same green mist, and they left both the realm and Tana's body behind.

* * *

Returning to the lounge, Joey set the Torch of Unquenchable Fire, plus the compass, on the mantle next to the sword, and they were all feeling confused and upset by what had happen. Instead of getting a gem, all they gotten was a bluish crystal filled with magic, and now they were wondering if it was possible for _any_ of them to get out of that place alive.

"Is it every man for himself now?" Tyler questioned, looking around at the seven surviving people that he'd considered friends up until that very moment.

"No, we _still_ have to stick together," Dawn insisted. "The Sorceress _wants_ us to turn against each other, blame each other, and – and-" She clutched her stomach. "Oh God, I'm going to be sick!" She dropped the crystal on the table and ran out of the room to get to the bathroom.

"I'll go check on her," Alison said and she also left the room.

Joey, who'd been standing behind the gem map, sank into the nearest chair and buried his face in his hands, his shoulders began shaking as he started to cry. "I'm _so_ sorry," he wept. "I'm so, _so_ sorry! This _wasn't_ suppose to happen again! It _wasn't_! I _never_ wanted to betray anyone like that _again!_"

"Again'?" Ernie repeated.

Andrea sighed and shared with them what Joey and Dawn had told her on their way back along the path. "Last year, GloZell and Bart voted Joey and Dawn, along with Lele, into a challenge that required them to play perverse games with mannequins," she explained. "And the last thing they had to do was write two names in some kind of journal, and when they wrote the names of GloZell and Bart… Well, you can guess what happen."

"Oh God," Gabbie gasped, realizing that this wasn't the first time that their friends had been put in such a position, and as upset as she was over Tana's death, she now knew why Dawn was feeling sick and why Joey was crying. She got up, went over to him, and hugged him. "Oh, Joey…"

Exchanging understanding looks, the rest of the group went over to him, and they were soon doing a group hug that was still going on when Alison came back in, supporting Dawn, who was looking pale, and they pulled them both into the hug, too, surprising the vampire.

No matter _what _happen next, and no matter _what_ the Sorceress tried to do to them next. They weren't going to turn on each other, and they were going to _work _together from that point on. They were going to _defeat_ the Sorceress one way or another as a _team_.

To Be Continued…

* * *

_I have so many, so many regrets._

_So many lies, so many broken ties._

_I wish for my old life._

_Wish I could fix my strike._

_Cause no one truly escapes the night._

_Oh, won't you help me escape the night._

_Oh baby help me escape the night._

_Escape the night._

* * *

A/N: Man, this hasn't been a good time for Joey and Dawn. Ok, I will see you all on Friday with the next episode. Bye for now! R&R everyone!


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